VIDEO: Ted Judy’s 2016 Colombia Expedition, Ep. 13

10 Aug, 2017

Finally, time to explore the Rio Atabapo!

“The first full day of exploring the Rio Atabapo got started after unloading all the camping gear and luggage at the beach where we would be spending the night, and then getting back into the boat and heading upstream to find some places to look for fish.

“As we pull into a backwater channel of the main river, we find a group of fishermen already working in the area, so we stop to take a look at their catch.

“The shoreline here is very rocky, and the water is deeper than it looks. The fishermen were collecting small catfish for the aquarium trade…”

One of the fishermen’s target species is Dekeyseria sp. L52, the Butterfly Pleco, here seen well-camouflaged on a piece of rock.

“The river provides fish to sell and fish to eat. Anything that is not legal to sell into the pet trade, is not of any interest to the pet trade, or is too large to ship, gets kept for dinner. This canoe has today’s catch, including an uncommon piranha, which is probably Serrasalmus manueli. There are also very large Atabapo Red Pike Cichlids.”

A large Pike Cichlid, possibly Atabapo II.

“We pile back into the boat and head up to the Caño Vitina, the same tributary we were collecting fish in yesterday, but now much closer to the Rio Atabapo itself. We keep moving upstream until we find a bank that is shallow enough to snorkel in and be able to see fish.”

Motoring up the Caño Vitina in search of better water.

“We had to move quite a ways upstream until we were able to find a spot where we could actually reach the shore without having too many flooded trees in the way. Now we’re going to see if we can see some fish!”

What treasures lie hidden in the tannin-stained waters of this Rio Atabapo tributary? What other fish did the team encounter while they explored the Rio Atabapo and lower Caño Vitina? You’ll have to watch to find out!

About the author

Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC is the publisher of award-winning magazines and books in the fields of aquarium keeping, aquatics, and marine science. It is the English-language publisher of CORAL and AMAZONAS Magazines and is based in Shelburne, Vermont, USA.